Rain Tire Policy: For the 2013 competition season, competitors will be required to run a Spec Rain Tire, in accordance with the same brand Spec Slick Tire. For example, all 4-cycle and Clone Junior Sportsman, Junior, and Senior classes will run the Bridgestone YLP Rain Tire.

Competitors are permitted to qualify on new or used tires, provided they meet the ambient temperature requirements on the grid and show no signs of prep. Temperature will be determined by use of a sample tire on the grid.

If competitors tire does not meet the ambient tire temperature requirement prior to completion of qualifying for his/ her class in question, competitor will start the heat race for that class in the rear of the field.

If competitors tire does not meet the ambient tire temperature requirement prior to completion of heat race for his/her class in question, competitor will start at the rear of the main event, or may not qualify depending on kart count in class.

If competitors tire does not meet the ambient tire temperature requirement prior to grid being released for main event, competitor will be disqualified from that class, droppable disqualification.

Prep Rules:

No Prepping- No Tire Warmers- No Heat Boxes

NOTE: Any competitor disqualified for the use of prep, no matter what day, will be immediately disqualified from that class, and all remaining classes for that weekend, and will be subject to 1 year suspension by Board of Trustees, as per the recommendation by WKA Race Officials.

ALL FINDINGS, RESULTS, AND SUBSEQUENT PENALTIES, STEMMING FROM THE TIRE SNIFFERS PERFORMANCE WILL BE CONSIDERED FINAL. THERE WILL BE NO OPTION OF HAVING TIRES TESTED AT A LAB.

The WKA RLV Tuned Exhaust Products Gold Cup Series is a 4-cycle and 2-cycle national sprint series with five races on the schedule in 2012. It is one of the most historic, longest running sprint series in the country and features events in Jacksonville, Fla.; Barnesville, Ga.; South Bend, Ind.; Wampum, Pa.; and Millville, N.J.

Class structureThe Gold Cup was a 4-cycle-only series for the better part of the 15 years. Three 2-cycle divisions – Komet Sportsman (age 7 to 12) and the TaG-powered X-30 Junior (age 12 to 15) and X-30 Senior (15 and up) – were added to the slate in 2012 with hopes of boosting entry counts and diversity in the series.

4-cycle racing is the heart of the Gold Cup. A full slate of Briggs & Stratton Animal and Clone Box Stock-powered divisions is offered for racers age 7 and up. A new division in 2012 is the Briggs LO206 Kid Kart, which runs as a national points class for youngsters age 5 to 7.

Weekend scheduleA Gold Cup weekend consists of four days. Thursday is parking and registration; Friday is practice; and Saturday and Sunday are devoted to one round of morning practice, qualifying, heats and features for each class.

The past several seasons have seen Gold Cup entry counts around 250 per event. WKA has worked to increase that number with the addition of the Box Stock Clone divisions as national classes in 2011 and, most recently, the insertion of the aforementioned 2-cycle and LO206 Kid Kart national classes.

Popular team localesGold Cup teams are located throughout the eastern half of the country. Hot spots for team bases include Maryland, western New York, Georgia and Jacksonville, Fla., mainly on account of series-following kart shops, chassis builders and popular sprint tracks located in these areas. Teams also are located throughout the Midwest and numerous different areas up and down the East Coast.

Full bodyworkThe most noticeable difference between 4-cycle Gold Cup karts and typical 2-cycle sprint mounts, besides the engine, is the bodywork.

The Gold Cup Series has long allowed full plastic bodywork packages, including a taller nosecone and full sidepanels, whereas karts in WKA’s Manufacturers Cup Series and other 2-cycle sprint series are required to run the smaller, CIK-style plastic bodywork. The Gold Cup-style bodywork, as it’s commonly referred, make the karts appear similar to an oval-track or sprint-road-race chassis.

Another noticeable difference between Gold Cup and Manufacturers Cup is that Gold Cup rules permit the kart's seat to be mounted in a lower position, allowing the driver to lean back in the go-kart with lower center of gravity. Manufacturers Cup and most all 2-cycle sprint series follow strict seat mounting rules that mandate the driver sits at an upright position.